Emerita Romero-Anderson

The historical account of Hispano merchants and their role in settling the west has not been given the recognition it deserves. These merchants contributed greatly to the growth of trade both on the Camino Real to Mexican markets and the Santa Fe Trail to the eastern U.S. trade centers. The supplies and merchandise they provided to the early settlements, sustained them and allowed them to continue and to become the towns and cities of today. José Dario Gallegos was one of these merchants.

Author chronicles state's first merchant (excerpt)

The Pueblo Chieftain
by Matt Hildner


Emerita Romero-Anderson hopes to make it a little bit easier for students to learn a history that came to her only through the course of decades.

Romero-Anderson published a book this summer that charts the life of her great-great grandfather, José Dario Gallegos. The merchant who made his living bringing goods back and forth across the Santa Fe Trail, was among the first group of settlers to arrive in San Luis and founded the state's oldest business, a general store that's now the R&R Market.

She hopes her book, José Dario Gallegos: Merchant of the Santa Fe Trail, will give students a window to the history of Hispanics in the San Luis Valley and their role in settling the area. The book which is targeted at fourth grade and up, follows Gallegos from his childhood near Taos, N.M., in the 1830s and 1840s, on to his introduction to the merchant business from his father, who operated way stations on the Santa Fe Trail for weary travelers.